Ootacamund or Ooty is a hill station situated on the Nilgiri Hills of South India. It is in the state of Tamil Nadu. For its pleasant climate, serenity and breathtaking views it is a popular tourist destination and honeymoon spot of the South.

I traveled to Ooty from Mysore by road. On the way, we crossed Bandipur National Park (in Karnataka) and Madu Malai National Park (in Tamil Nadu). While crossing these parks, we saw wild peacocks, deer of various kinds, and wild elephants. Bandipur National Park has tigers too and tourists do visit the park in the hope of seeing tigers. We, of course, did not see any tiger but did see a sign on the road saying, "You are in tiger territory. Please drive slowly and use caution". Both these parks have teak forests and plenty of flowering trees. The drive was pleasant except for some stretches of bad road.

Talking about bad roads, I have to say this: I was so eager to visit Ooty as I have never been there before. But I was really disappointed as soon as I entered the town. The views were great, the climate pleasant, but the roads were horrible. So horrible that I had to skip some of the attractions there. My car driver informed me that the roads are like this in Ooty for many years, and they never repair them properly. I have seen there myself some of their road repair operations. It is like closing the wounds after a heart transplant operation with a small piece of Bandaid! Shame on Ootacamund Municipality and the city administrators. Perhaps that is why I did not see a single foreign tourists there. What a shame!